Update for November 14-21, 2005

Extra shifts

It looks like the labor situation at the Disneyland Resort is slowly coming to a head as various elements, both past and present, combine to create stress between management and workers. Interestingly, Disney is essentially fighting a two-front war as the situations are different with employees at Disneyland park and those at Disney's California Adventure.

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Over at DCA, negotiations have been ongoing between Disney and United Food
& Commercial Workers Local 324, the union that represents many of the
cast members at Disneyland Resort. UCFW had hoped that they would have a contract
to offer for vote on November 4 but instead, negotiations have stalled. At
this point, it looks like the union may just continue with the current contract
until next year when the Disneyland collective bargaining agreement is also
up for negotiation, and therefore gain more leverage. Some cast members received
an e-mail from the union last week warning them to begin saving money so that
they would be in a stronger bargaining position at that time, a clear warning
that a strike is possible.

One of the issues involved in that negotiation is also playing a role in
the other battlefront in Disney's labor issues. Back when the collective bargaining
agreement was being set up for the thousands of new employees at Disney's
California Adventure and World of Disney (the Downtown Disney store), one
of the stipulations included a series of administrative hurdles that made
it difficult for Disney management to cross-schedule cast members between
the two parks so that before a Disneyland cast member could be scheduled for
a DCA shift, every other qualified DCA cast member had to first be offered
the shift.

This was originally designed to allow new cast members at DCA to have the
more preferable shifts without having them taken by more senior Disneyland
cast members. Interestingly, the situation has now reversed, with the more
senior DCA cast members wanting to remove or alter these restrictions so that
they could request shifts in Disneyland.

The California letters in front of Disney's California Adventure have been given a candy cane upgrade for the holidays. Photo by David Michael.

Meanwhile, forces have been conspiring to make for some very unhappy Disneyland
park cast members. Though the problems predate the 50th Anniversary celebration,
the unprecedented attendance at Disneyland park this past summer and continuing
into the off-season has brought the situation to a head because Disney has
been completely unable to bring in new hires in numbers sufficient to fill
shiftsand at the same time has a large pool of employees at DCA who
cannot easily be scheduled into Disneyland shifts.

Faced with shortages, Disney management began scheduling mandatory overtime
and extra shifts earlier this year. Requests for vacation and days off have
been denied, and sometimes canceled even if already approved. This extra work
has been more than some people want (or can handle with outside obligations),
causing cast members to quit in increasing numbers. Since management is still
unable to hire people fast enough, the problems only got worse.

For the first time Disney's California Adventure has a major Christmas tree of its own. Photo by David Michael.

In an effort to come up with a solution, management began enforcing strict
attendance policies, which, depending on who you ask, are viewed as Draconion
or a simple enforcing of liberal rules already in effect. Either way, it is
a change from what cast members had been experiencing for several years. Here
is how we understand things have been, and how they've changed.

The policy under former resort president Cynthia Harriss was that cast members
accumulated points for attendance issues. An absence was worth three points
per instance, and being tardy for a shift was 1.5 points per day.
Cast members could call in that they would not be present for four reasons:
Call Sick, Call Transportation, Call Personal,
or Call Dependent.

Tinker Bell serves as the top note for DCA's Christmas tree. Photo by David Michael.

 Call Sick: Sick cast members would get three points for the first
day missed, but could call out an additional four consecutive shifts without
receiving additional points. In other words, if they were out for one day
or five, it was three points. If the cast member was out for more than five
days, they needed to have a doctor's note before they can return to work.

 Call Transportation: A call out for transportation, which
meant they couldn't get to work, was worth 3 points, and could also be continued
for up to five consecutive days.

When lit at night, DCA's Christmas tree has a more traditional look than Disneyland's. Photo by David Michael.

 Call Personal: Cast members calling out for personal reasons
did not have to tell Disney why they weren't coming in, and their manager
could not ask. These were also continuable.

 Call Dependent: Cast members could take a day off to care for a dependent
and they got four of these calls per year. No points were charged for a Call
Dependent. Technically, these were only supposed to be used to care
for registered dependents, but the number of days was not based on the number
of registered dependents one hadhaving seven children got the same number
of dependent days as unmarried, childless cast members.

Disneyland's Christmas tree is given over to the color gold this year, with a new 50th logo serving as the top piece. Photo by David Michael.

Although disciplinary action was triggered depending on employment status,
the strictest schedule was for Casual Temporary, who were disciplined when
they accumulated nine points in a single month, 18 points in three months,
or 24 points in a year (full-time cast members were at the other end and they
get 12, 24, and 36 points). The discipline was progressive, starting with
a verbal warning, then a written warning, then a one-day suspension before
being terminated.

This policy was further eased because when a cast member did receive a disciplinary
action, they were given a grace call before the next step. So,
if a cast member accumulated their ninth point for a month, they would get
a verbal warning. Say that cast member already had six points from the prior
month and the very next time that the cast member called out sick, they would
hit 18 points, indicating a written warning. However, under the old policy,
that written warning would actually not be issued until the subsequent absence,
or at 21 points. In fact, depending on how long it took a manager to administer
a warning, cast members could rack up far more points than necessary to terminate
them.

Some may find the decorations on Disneyland's tree too monochromatic. Photo by David Michael.

In a change from what most current Disneyland cast members had been used
to with that system, Disneyland's human resources earlier this year began
a rigid enforcment of the point system, eliminated the grace calls
between disciplinary actions, and implemented a program called Presenteeism,
which emphasized the importance of making all of your shifts. Many cast members
found themselves immediately on the bubble for termination, and simply quit
when faced with the prospect of it being more than a year before they could
miss a shift off for any reasonwhile others, without the benefit of
a grace call, quickly went over and were terminated. Cast members
also report that leniency on the part their managers was also removed. One
cast member posted to our message board that it used to be that if you could
show you were stuck in traffic, your manager would waive the tardiness points.
Another complained that he was late getting to his station because he stopped
along the way to help some park guests; his manager would no longer waive
those points (or was no longer able to waive them).

The 60-foot Disneyland Christmas tree is quite the sight when lit at night. Photo by David Michael.

This doesn't combine well with staffing shortages that are forcing Disneyland
to overschedule cast members with long shifts every day of the week, as well
as denying any requests for scheduled time off. There are plenty of stories
of sick cast members unable to schedule doctors appointments, of honeymoons
taken as sick time (if someone has points to lose), and people stuck in traffic
completely beyond their control, desparate because they cannot afford 1.5
points for showing up late.

It is hard for non-employees to feel much sympathy when the math is done
and reveals that even under the current system it is possible to have 39 unscheduled
absences a year without any discipline and more than that without being fired.
Of course, this assumes that the cast members are lazy or are taking advantage
of the system, which most aren't. A dedicated employee who doesn't take the
maximum time off for each call out could be fired for missing as few as nine
shifts. And of course, those absences are unpaid (some job classifications
do get set amounts of paid sick and vacation time). Considering that Disneyland
offers pay well below equivalent employment in the area, it could also be
well argued that the lax attendance policies were one of the few perks making
it worth working at Disneyland.

The next phase of Presenteeism that went into effect over this past weekend
are, right or wrong, going to make things worse from the cast member's perspective.
Calling out for transportation or personal issues will no longer be continuable
(that is, if you are out for three shifts because of car trouble, you would
get marked for nine points instead of three). Additionally, casual regular
and casual temporary (essentially, the part-time cast members) will no longer
get the four dependent days, the element of the current absence policy that
management feels was most abused (apparently a lot of cast members with no
registered dependents had chronically ill parents throughout the year).

This change had many calling for a sick-out on Friday and Saturday,
with cast members using the dependent calls that would be going away as of
yesterday. We haven't yet heard if this had any real impact on staffing levels,
but on a holiday weekend any effect would have been magnified.

For now, though, it seems like the situation will only get worse until one
of two things happen (if not both): First, Disneyland needs to begin paying
competitively, which will allow the hiring of qualified people in sufficient
numbers that overscheduling is no longer required and current cast members
will no longer have to use duplicity to get time off for personal matters.
Instead of improving pay, however, the company has gone on a marketing blitz
with near-constant job fairs and even advertisements on local radio stations.
To get through the holiday season, Disney is offering new and existing cast
members a $100 incentive bonus for making it through the period between Thanksgiving
and New Year's Day without an attendance discipline (which, depending on how
they fell into the schedule, would still allow for between three and 15 days
out sick).

Second, Disney and the unions need to reach terms that will make it easier to use employees from one area of the resort to ease unexpected demands in another section.

Jam packed

Last Friday, Disneyland did something that usually only happens on New Year's
Eve and the Fourth of July: It reached capacity. Combine a holiday (Veterans
Day), significant park changes (kickoff of the holiday decorations), and a
major convention (22,000+ cheerleaders), and by early afternoon last Friday
Disneyland closed its gates for several hours. Once enough people had left,
new entries were again allowed. Word is that Disneyland's attendance last
Friday exceeded estimates for this upcoming New Year's Eve. A third performance
of Fantasmic was added at 11:30, but as anybody who has been to Disneyland
in crowds like that knows, if you aren't able to have fun while not doing
much it is probably better to just stay home. Saturday crowds were also very
large, but capacity was not reached.

Drivers arriving at Disneyland last weekend received this notice that Disneyland Park was full. Photo by David Michael.

Though very busy, Disney's California Adventure did not reach capacity and arriving guests were directed to that park.

Christmas activities

Friday was the official kick-off of the holiday season at Disneyland. The
tree is up, the Christmas decorations are up, Santa is in his new spot along
with some reindeer, it's a small world Holiday is open, and a
new lighting show is done throughout the evening. For those making a holiday
season trip to Disneyland, here is a rundown of some of your options at Disneyland.

Eight real reindeer (and one reindeer Pluto) can now be found in the Big Thunder Ranch area. Photo by David Michael.

Santa's Reindeer Round Up is completely new this year. For many reasons (most importantly traffic flow on Main Street with three parades a day) Santa has been moved back into this area behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (the Little Patch of Heaven petting zoo during the regular season). In addition to sitting with Santa Claus you can also meet Mrs. Claus, Pluto, Chip and Dale, and Clara Cluck. There are also eight reindeer in the petting zoo and various activities for children (or inclined adults). Santa's Reindeer Round Up opens every day at 10:00 a.m. Check the daily schedule for closing times.

Santa's Reindeer Round Up provides activities, a petting zoo, and the chance to mingle with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and Disney characters. Photo by David Michael.

There is a daily ceremony to turn on the lights of Disneyland's main Christmas
tree in Town Square. Currently tree lighting ceremony is held everyday at
4:20, but will move back to 5:20 beginning November 28. Disney has sent out
a press release with the following fun facts about the tree.

The Disneyland 50th Anniversary Gold Christmas Tree stands in Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland from November 11, 2005 to January 2, 2006.

The tree is 60 feet tall and decorated with 5,000 golden ornaments and 5,000 holiday lights.

The lights decorating the tree are clear, white and amber accenting and highlighting the tree's golden luminescence.

The tree's gold topper is a symbolic pair of golden Mickey Mouse ears with the numeral 50 in the center, and is accented with genuine, hand-applied 24-karat gold leafing.

At the base of the tree are giant decorative gift boxes and colorful red poinsettias.

The tree was harvested from the Mount Shasta region of Northern California, near the city of Redding.

The tree is a White Fir, which is also known as a Shasta Fir.

For its journey to the Disneyland Resort the tree was secured horizontally on a flatbed tractor-trailer and transported by a trucking company to southern California.

The tree arrived at Disneyland on October 17 and soon began an extensive preparation and decorating process that took place in the Resort's backstage area.

More than 20 Disneyland Resort Cast Members were involved in the process of preparing, decorating and displaying the Disneyland 50th Anniversary Gold Christmas Tree.

The entire process for this year's tree, from selection to installation on Main Street, U.S.A., took 560 hours.

The tree firmly rests in a planter in Town Square and is kept secure from any wind effects by four guy wires that are attached to the tree. Two guy wires are anchored to Main Street buildings and two are anchored into the ground.

During the decorating process, the tree was placed in a five-foot-deep well containing 50 gallons of water. While in Town Square for its eight-week display, the tree sits in a similar well that is replenished with water every few days.

The Disneyland tradition of a giant Christmas tree towering over Main Street, U.S.A. began in 1956. Disneyland is the last Disney park in the world to still utilize a real live tree as its holiday centerpiece in Town Square.

Since its first holiday season in 1955 Disneyland has celebrated this special time of year with Yule time parades, an abundance of festive décor and special entertainment including the annual holiday parade, carolers, holiday foods, seasonal merchandise and the traditional Candlelight Ceremony and Processional.

Santa Claus can be found in the cabin on what was Little Patch of Heaven. Photo by David Michael.

it's a small world Holiday. In addition to the annual overlay
done to the inside of it's a small world, a new element has been
added this year. Using the new projectors that have been installed for the
Remember...Dreams Come True fireworks show, a little ceremony has been created
in the evenings surrounding the chiming of the clock every 15 minutes.

Holiday snow also returns to the park following the Remember...Dreams Come
True fireworks show. You can experience the snow both on Main Street or in
the it's a small world area.

Though it doesn't begin performances until this Friday (November 18), the
A Christmas Fantasy parade is returning this year to Disneyland with two after-dark
performances at 5:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. The Parade of Dreams will be limited
to a single daytime performance at 3:00 p.m.

Snow has returned to Main Street (and "it's a small world") following the fireworks show each night. Photo by David Michael.

Candlelight apologies

Our apologies for not getting the information out about Candlelight Processional dining packages when they finally went on sale last Wednesday. We were caught up in the final preparations for the rollover to the new site the following day and by the time we got to the information the packages were already sold out.

For those wondering, the four participating restaurants are Storytellers
Cafe and Napa Rose at Grand Californian Hotel and Granville's and Hook's Pointe
at Disneyland Hotel. Storyteller's Cafe and Hook's Pointe require spending
$40 per adult ($15 per child), while the other two restaurants are set at
$60 and $15.

Hope is not lost for those who did not get dining reservations, but you'll
need to line up at Disneyland before each performance, and people will be
allowed in to sit on an as-available basis.

NFFC trivia challenge and meeting

The Studio chapter of NFFC (link) has made the following announcement:

Ever thought that Disneyland trivia challenges were so easy you could win
one by mailing your entry in? We'll, here's your chance to find out! At
the Studio Chapter's next meeting on November 20th, we'll be holding the
latest edition of our annual Disneyland Resort Trivia Challengebut
this year, we're adding a little twist. Instead of having our participating
teams start all at once and race against each other and the clock, we'll
provide teams with a set of questions and a return envelope that they can
pick up the morning of the event; when a team is ready to submit their packet,
all they have to do is drop it in any mailbox inside the Park before they
leave for the day. At our December meeting, we'll announce the winners of
the Challenge and hand out fabulous Disney prizes to the winning team.

Don't feel up to tackling the Trivia Challenge but would still like to
spend the day enjoying the Disneyland Resort? Then please join us for lunch
at Whitewater Snacks at the Grand Californian Hotel, where we'll share the
latest Disney news and open nominations for the 2006 Chapter Board of Directors.
Whether you come to Disneyland to tax your brain or to take in the scenery,
you're sure to have a great day with the Studio Chapterplease join
us for a fun and exciting afternoon!

Entry packets for the Studio Chapter Disneyland Trivia Challenge will be
provided to participants between 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the Disneyland
Resort picnic area, located adjacent to the Mickey and Friends tram stop
at the Entrance Plaza, and during the Chapter meeting at Whitewater Snacks
at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel (see below for meeting information).
In the event of inclement weather, entry packets will be provided at Whitewater
Snacks from 11:00 a.m. until the conclusion of the Chapter meeting. No entries
will be handed out after the close of the meeting. Completed Trivia Challenge
packets must be submitted in the postage-paid envelope provided with the
packet and must be mailed from a mailbox in Disneyland; postmarks of submitted
entries will be checked to verify compliance with the Trivia Challenge rules.
Entry to Disneyland will be required to participate in the Trivia Challenge;
we're sorry, but the Chapter will be unable to provide admission to Disneyland
Park. The registration fee for the Trivia Challenge is $8 per person, payable
in person on the day of the event, with proceeds going to the Studio Chapter.
Non-members are welcome to participate.

The Studio Chapter will meet at 1:00 p.m. at Whitewater Snacks at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Disneyland Resort, Anaheim. Theme park admission is not required to attend the Chapter meeting and non-members are welcome to attend. For further information or directions to Whitewater Snacks or the Disneyland Resort picnic area, please visit our website, http://www.nffc-la.org, or e-mail Paul Schnebelen at president@nffc-la.org.

Disneyland podcasts

Apparently the podcasts that Disneyland provided during the heat of the 50th Anniversary kick-off in May, and again on the actual anniversary, proved popular enough that Disneyland is rolling it out as a regular offering. Michael Geoghegan will host and they promise he'll be presenting interviews with key figures and other inside information about Disneyland. You can access the podcasts (past, present, and future) at http://www.disneyland.com/podcasts.

Meanwhile, if you're into the podcast scene, you can also hear our own Mike Scopa as a regular panelist on the WDW Today (link) podcast.

Siemens signs on to sponsor Spaceship Earth, Illuminations, Osborne Lights
and more

After a couple of years without a sponsor after AT&T dropped out in 2003,
Spaceship Earth picked up new sponsorship last week when international technology
giant Siemens AG signed a major 12-year deal with the Walt Disney Company.
In addition to sponsoring Spaceship Earth, Siemens will also get sponsorship
of the Iluminations fireworks show at Epcot, and new attractions at Innoventions
in both Epcot and Disneyland. Also, Siemens' Sylvania lighting division will
get sponsorship of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights at the Disney-MGM
Studios, as well as Disney's Electrical Parade and Walt Disney's Parade of
Dreams in California.

Though the buildings of Main Street are well decorated for the season, due to the height of the Parade of Dream floats, no decorations span the street itself. Photo by David Michael.

The deal also includes sponsorship of ABC's video board in New York City's
Times Square and further joint technology ventures. This is another in a series
of technology-focused deals made under Disney's technophile CEO Bob Iger.
In a press release announcing the deal, Iger said, Embracing new technology
is a key strategic priority at Disney because it supports our commitment to
creating an outstanding guest experience and drives growth for the entire
Company.

There is no word yet on future changes at Spaceship Earth to reflect Siemens'
sponsorship, though the remaining AT&T logos have all disappeared.

Ears to the ground

...Mad Tea Party will close for one day tomorrow (November 14) for general maintenance.

At DCA, visitors are greeted with Santa's Beach Blast, themed to a beach Christmas. Photo by David Michael.

Don't keep it to yourself! Send us your news tips, rumors, and comments. Email us here.

Disneyland

Snow White, An Enchanted Musical closed.On hiatus during off season; expected to return for final season in summer 2006.

it's a small world closed October 24  November 10 to install holiday overlay; closed January 9-25, 2006, to remove overlay

Pirates of the Caribbean closed March 6  June 16, 2006 for major refurbishment and possible show updates.

Disneyland Monorail closure beginning sometime in January 2006. Not yet announced, though expected to involve almost a complete rebuilding of Tomorrowland Station to accommodate Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, a complete refurbishment (though not reconstruction) of the track, and hopefully new monorails to replace the existing vehicles.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is currently under construction and will open sometime in 2007.

Note: Refurbishment schedules are estimates only. All information is subject to change without notice. To get the most recent updates, call Disneyland at (714) 7817290.

December

Several current promotions offer discounted admission to the Disneyland Resort. For convenience sake, we have grouped the discount offers based on the number of days the tickets are valid. Check out the category that best matches the amount of time you plan to spend at the resort, and pick the offer which works best for you. And keep those tips coming  let us know if you find a better / different offer, so we can share it with other readers!

One Day

Southern California 1Day Park Hopper ($61/$71)  Residents of Southern California (zip codes 9000093599) and and northern Baja California, Mexico (zip codes 2100022999), can buy discounted oneday park hoppers. You can purchase up to eight tickets at a time, one order per day, and two orders in any sevenday period. Valid ID showing zip code will be required with ticket for admission.

Two Days

AAA Flex Passport ($98/$78)  Some AAA offices
offer a 2-day Flex Passport at $98 for ages 10 and up, or $78 for ages
39. This ticket does not require a hotel or package purchasecheck
with your local office to see if the ticket is available in your area.

A reader let us know that AAA offices in Oregon and Idaho do not offer the 2day version of this ticket, but instead offer a 3day pass.

AAA Flex Passport ($129/$99)  Some AAA offices offer
a 3-day Flex Passport at $129 for ages 10 and up, or $99 for ages 39.
This ticket does not require a hotel or package purchase  check
with your local office to see if the ticket is available in your area.

City Pass($185/$127)  The cost of a CityPass
increases to $185 for ages 10 and up, but decrease to $127 for ages
39. The pass includes a 3-Day Disneyland Resort park hopper bonus
ticket (includes a $10 ESPN Zone game card and one early admission),
one day admission to Knott's Berry Farm, Sea World San Diego, and either
the San Diego Zoo or San Diego Wild Animal Park. The CityPass still
expires 14 days after first use. Purchase CityPass through the Disneyland
Web site, at the Disneyland Resort, at the other theme parks included
in the pass, or directly from the CityPass Web site (link).

The Southern California City Pass can also be purchased online from Costco at a cost of $164.99/$112.99 (link).

3-Day Park Hopper Bonus
tickets ($109/$109)($139/$109) The park hopper
bonus tickets currently include one early entry admission to Fantasyland,
and a $10 ESPN Zone game card.

You can take advantage of the Advance Purchased discount as detailed above. These tickets expire 13 days after first use or January 15, 2006, whichever comes first. The first visit must occur before January 2, 2006.

Both offers are available at the Disneyland Web site (link) and from AAA. You must buy these tickets in advance; they are not available at the Disneyland Resort ticket booths.

Several readers wrote to tell us that the Safeway stores in Central and Northern California, and Vons stores in Las Vegas, are also offering the 3Day Park Hopper Bonus tickets. Check with your local Safeway store for details, as the dates and benefits may differ.

Four Days

4Day Park Hopper Bonus tickets($159/$129)  The park hopper bonus tickets currently include one early entry admission to Fantasyland, and a $10 ESPN Zone game card.

You can take advantage of the Advance Purchased discount as detailed above. These tickets expire 13 days after first use or January 15, 2006, whichever comes first. The first visit must occur before January 2, 2006.

These tickets are available through the Disneyland Web site (link) and from AAA. You must buy these tickets in advance; they are not available at the Disneyland Resort ticket booths.

California Diamond Fun Book (one per package  may not be available when you order)

Free parking at Disneyland Resort theme parks

Early entry into Fantasyland on select days

An additional handling fee of $10 is charged per mailing address. These tickets are available to AAA members only when purchased through participating AAA offices.

Several readers report that their local AAA offices do not offer this ticket, or that the benefits differ. You may remember that this also happened with the 2004 version of this package.

MousePlanet has contacted AAA offices around the country and encountered the same problem. If your local AAA office does not offer the ticket, check with another AAA office in your area. The decision to offer this ticket seems to depend on which regional AAA club you belong to, and in some cases rest with the office manager at each location.

The Auto Club of Southern California (ACSC) is not participating in this offer, and AAA Oregon/Idaho offers the 5day tickets. Some readers have also been told that the California Diamond Fun Book is no longer available.

5Day Park Hopper Bonus tickets($139/$139) ($169/$139)  The park hopper bonus tickets currently include one early entry admission to Fantasyland, and a $10 ESPN Zone game card.

You can take advantage of the Advance Purchased discount as detailed above. These tickets expire 13 days after first use or January 15, 2006, whichever comes first. The first visit must occur before January 2, 2006.

Both of these ticket offers are available through the Disneyland Web site (link), and from AAA. You must buy these tickets in advance; they are not available at the Disneyland Resort ticket booths.

Six or Seven Days

Disney's AAA Passport Plus Package 2005 The Parkhopper Plus package may be available in 6 or 7 day increments at participating AAA offices. Check with your local AAA office for availability and pricing:

California Diamond Fun Book (one per package  may not be available when you order)

Free parking at Disneyland Resort theme parks

An additional handling fee of $10 is charged per mailing address. These tickets are available to AAA members only when purchased through AAA offices.

Several readers report that their local AAA offices do not offer this ticket, or that the benefits differ. You may remember that this also happened with the 2004 version of this package. MousePlanet has contacted AAA offices around the country, and encountered the same problem. If your local AAA office does not offer the ticket, check with another AAA office in your area. The decision to offer this ticket seems to depend on which regional AAA club you belong to, and in some cases rests with the office manager at each location.

The Auto Club of Southern California (ACSC) is not participating in this offer, and AAA Oregon/Idaho offers the 5day tickets. Some readers have also been told that the California Diamond Fun Book is no longer available.

Special thanks to MousePlanet reader David Michael for some of this information.

Fourth Night Free

Get a fourth night free if you stay at any of the three Disneyland Resort hotels for three or more consecutive nights. Visits must happen through December 18, 2005 (link).

2005 Resort Magic Package

This package (link) for couples includes two nights' lodging and a park hopper tickets. Travel must occur during value seasons from August 28November 21, 2005, and November 27December 23, 2005.

50th Anniversary commemorative certificate (one per package)

Park Hopper bonus ticket, which includes one early entry into Fantasyland and a $10 ESPN Zone game card. (Park hopper tickets can be upgraded to an annual pass for an extra fee)

Preferred seating to select shows at Disney's California Adventure

Entry into Mickey's Toontown Madness

Walt Disney Travel Co. lanyard and pin (one per person)

Walt Disney Travel Co. luggage tag

Walt Disney Travel Co. fun book (one per package)

Two versions of the package are available. For $349 per person (double occupancy) you can stay at one of the onproperty Disney hotels. For $229 per person (double occupancy) you can get the same package while staying at the Jolly Roger Hotel or Red Roof Inn Maingate.

50th Anniversary Package

The Happiest Homecomings on Earth package has been revised for the new year. The previous promotion was good only for threenight stays at the Disneyland Resort hotels; the new offer is valid on longer stays and includes Good Neighbor Hotels as well.

Instead of the 50th anniversary commemorative clock and Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour, the new packages include all the following:

Enchanting commemorative certificate (one per package)

Park Hopper bonus ticket, which includes one early entry into Fantasyland and a $10 ESPN Zone game card. (Park hopper tickets can be upgraded to an annual pass for an extra fee)

Preferred seating to select shows at Disney's California Adventure

Entry into Mickey's Toontown Madness

Walt Disney Travel Co. lanyard and pin (one per person)

Walt Disney Travel Co. luggage tag

Walt Disney Travel Co. fun book (one per package)

The Happiest Homecoming on Earth package is available for arrival dates through December 31, 2005. The package must be booked online through the Disneyland Web site (link) by December 28, 2005.

Free Child's Member pass

While supplies last if you make a $75 purchase at Downtown Disney's LEGO Imagination Center you will get one free child's Membership Pass to Legoland in San Diego, CA. The pass is good for children ages 3-12 and comes with unlimited park admission, special discounts, and a subscription to the Legoland Newsletter.

Free Stroller Rental

Holders of a Disney Visa card can get up to two free stroller rentals per day at the Disneyland Resort. This offer is valid through September 30, 2006 and you must present a valid Disney Visa card at time of rental.

ESPN Zone MVP Club

If you sign up online for ESPN Zone's MVP Club (link), you can receive a 40point game card (about $10 worth), and an ESPN Zone minicooler. ESPN Club in Orlando is excluded from this offer. You must pick up these items in person, although they do not have to be used as the same store from which you get them. There are some fairly strict requirements for registering and getting your rewards, so make sure you read the details carefully (link).

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